This celebrated park extends along the left bank of the river Po at the foot of the hills, between the King Umberto I and Princess Isabella bridges. It is very close to the centre of town, and about one kilometre from the Porta Nuova main railway station.

It no longer is Turin vastest park, as its some 500,000 square metre area now ranks second after the 840,000 square metre Pellerina Park, Italy's most extended urban green area.

The origins of its name are rather uncertain. The first document bearing the name Valentinium is dated 1275; some trace it back to Saint Valentine, as the remains of this young 13th Century martyr Saint had been preserved in a crystal container in the Church of Saint Vitus on the hill facing the Valentino Park since the 18th Century before being transferred here following on the destruction of a small church close to today's green area.

Some experts claim that the 14th of February (Saint Valentine's today) was celebrated in a peculiar mixture of religious remembrances and mundane entertainment with a party in which each lady called her Cavalier Valentino.

The park was opened in 1630 on a project by Carlo Cognengo di Castellamonte and later completed by the designer's son Amedeo in 1660. In 1864 it was partially redesigned by French designer Barillet with a better layout of avenues and lanes, little woods, artificial dales, a small riding-track and a mini-lake, later dried out and used as skating rink during the Winter season.

The great International Exhibitions of 1884, 1898, 1921, 1922, and 1928 were held in the park grounds. A pleasantly flowered dale crossed by streams and full of flowers beds, with a nearby rock garden was created for the 1961 Exhibition. The rose garden was created in 1965 and was later enlarged for the Flor 62 Flower Show.